It was okay.

I didn't like the every other chapter back and forth between the present and three years before. It kept pulling me from the main narrative.
I also didn't like that the main conflict between Eleanor and Edmund could have been resolved if he'd confronted her.
Too many times the characters discussed issues in conversation that I'm pretty sure real people back in those didn't, especially with someone who wasn't a close friend or family (finances, dowries, etc).
It got a little better towards the ending once the dual timeline was done.

Also the word resumé (it needs the accent, by the way) is a word used in the US. In Europe, in the 19th century, the term would have been curriculum vitae, but it was mainly used in academia, not in every day conversation.

I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

A new author for me and I'm so excited! This book was so good. I loved the heroine and the hero. This story tugged at my heart with all the feels. I was sad, frustrated, and happy. I loved the ending. This was a sweet romance and I highly recommend to all Austen lovers.
*I was given a copy by the publisher. This is my honest opinion.

This was a really nice example of Regency romance. The writing was beautiful, and there was emotional depth to it.
Anyone who reads many of my reviews will know that I am not a fan of the plot that hinges on avoidable misunderstandings or stubborn lack of communication. That is what drives the plot for half of this book. Edmund and Eleanor fell in love with each other three years ago, and he was on the point of proposing when he happened to see her in the arms of another man. Crushed and convinced of her fickleness, Edmund storms off without a word. After all this time has passed, they are thrown into one another's company again, and the old wounds have not healed. Their affection is still alive, but it's tormented.
For at least the first half, the book alternates between chapters of their original romance and falling-out, and their current reunion. Even though I found their breakup frustrating, as I always do when a simple conversation could clear things up, after the halfway point I was more satisfied with the direction the characters are heading. It becomes at least a little understandable why Edmund was so sensitive all those years ago, and his emotions upon realizing his mistake are strong enough to be gratifying to the reader. His subsequent attempts to help Eleanor, even without the hope of marrying her, really go a long ways toward redeeming his major error. And, as mentioned, the writing is very lovely.
I look forward to reading other books by this author.

This book was pretty delightful. :) I enjoyed the hero and heroine and I liked getting glimpses into their shared past. There were some fun and cute moments - the boat incident :) - and the secret kept by the heroine's family reminded me of North & South. Loved that angle. And at the end, the hero really turns into a true, well, hero.

The only thing that kept me from 100% enjoying it was the fact that what keeps the hero and heroine in a stand-off for the first half of the book is all based on a years-old misunderstanding. (And that's not a spoiler - you know pretty much right away that's the case.) And books where the biggest obstacle is a misunderstanding tend to drive me crazy, especially when one honest conversation would solve everything. I think if they could've had that conversation earlier in the book, some of the fun moments might've felt a little more romantic instead of needlessly strained. There still would've been plenty of tension, considering the hero was nearly engaged to someone else...

I still enjoyed the book, though, and I'll look forward to reading more from Heidi Kimball in the future!

This is Heidi Kimball's first novel although you may have read her work in the Christmas Courting anthology.

The first half of the book, each chapter switches from present day to 3 year prior. It helps show their backstory and how they fell in love and their misunderstanding. After the truth comes out, the chapters are present but the location changes. I felt this made for a choppy story and I'd forget where we were located, all the back and forth. In some of these chapters you meet other characters and then they're dropped from the book. I loved the parts with the Warwick's grandchildren and wished to see them again.

At the beginning, Eleanor finds herself in embarrassing moment after another that Edmund always seems to see. While one funny story, maybe two is fun, but to have it happen over and over again is too much. Poor fictional Eleanor.

A third almost invisible character is Eleanor's brother. I'm not a medical expert but as a reader, I guess he contracted yellow fever. What is the likelihood that he lived the boat ride back?

There were a few editing mistakes and perhaps this ebook is an older version? This is my first time reading a book through NetGalley. I received this book for free in exchange of a review.

If you enjoy a Regency period romance, A Guarded Heart by Heidi Kimball would be a great choice. Eleanor has lived in isolation for three years because of a family scandal. When distant relatives invite her to stay with them and begin her return to society, she comes face to face with the man who broke her heart three years ago.

Edmund has spent the last three years trying to forget Eleanor and the betrayal he things she perpetrated. He is soon to be engaged to another, so he wants to put his feelings for Eleanor in the past. When the scandal resurfaces, Edmund finds the truth of the circumstances and is left reeling.

They cannot ignore the attraction for each other. As Edmund reaches out to help Eleanor, their feelings grow even stronger. Can they break through the walls they've built around their hearts and learn to trust and love each other again?

This was historical romance book told in dual POV and chapters change telling story from what happened three years a go and in present time.

We learn early on that something happened between lead characters what left them both angry with each other. And that something is product of misunderstanding.
Add to that mix family problems of the heroine and hero's girlfriend and you get very interesting plot line.

I read this in one sitting.
The writing is amazing and I would love to read more books by this author.

But overall I found this just an okay book.

I loved this story although there was so much heartbreak in it. The story starts with Eleanor's cousin's family "easing" her back into society 3 years after her family suffered a scandal. At the party she sees Edmund who gives the impression (to others) he's meeting her for the first time.

Each chapter gives both Eleanor's and Edmund's points of view and the chapters alternate between the present and 3 years earlier when Eleanor and Edmund met at a house party and fell in love. We know something happened but don't find out what that is until about half way into the story. Their history is revealed in the flashback chapters and we get to know the characters and see how they fell in love. These parts are lighter than the present because "scandal" hasn't occurred yet. Of course once the incident that caused them to part in anger is revealed, we know it was just a big misunderstanding.

I liked both of the main characters. Eleanor suffers a great deal, and much of it is because of choices made by her family. The scandal that shamed her family from society had nothing to do with anything Eleanor did. She was far stronger than I would've been had I lost my brother and my mother, and my father turned to drinking and pretty much ignored me.

Edmund is a wonderful man. He cares about Eleanor even when he felt obligated to marry Miss Coombs. I loved when he made arrangements to have something done for Eleanor but wanted his part in it kept secret--he knew she wouldn't want to accept it if it came from him. One of my favorite parts is when Edmund decides he's going to marry Miss Coombs--There, finally, he would propose to Miss Coombs. The prospect was about as enticing as sitting down to go over the estate's ledgers. A duty to be completed, but one he took no pleasure in. You can tell he's just thrilled to be marrying her. LOL. Thankfully both he and Eleanor come to their senses.

I love how the end isn't rushed or forced but just comes together so well. This is a lovely second-chance-at-love story and I think it's an unusual one because we get to see the characters fall in love both times. This is a clean romance.

Thank you to Covenant Communications and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book. All thoughts and opinions expressed are mine.

Three years ago, Eleanor Haywood and Edmund Fletcher were in love. Edmund was on the cusp of asking Eleanor to be his wife, when a tragic misunderstanding occurred. Since their break up, Eleanor has also retreated from society due to a family scandal.

The book, A Guarded Heart, unfolds at a ball given by her cousins, the Warwick’s, who have undertaken the task of re-introducing Eleanor to society. Edmund and Eleanor meet at the ball for the first time in three years. Will sparks fly? Is there a second chance for love? Can they get beyond the tragic misunderstanding or is it too late?

A Guarded Heart grabs you from the first chapter and absorbs you till the end. I was truly sad for it to end. The chapters of the book alternate between three years ago and present day, until the past meets the present. You will fall in love with the well-developed and very loveable characters of Edmund and Eleanor. Heidi Kimball is a very capable writer, and she excels at writing great dialogue and she also excels at expressing the thoughts of her characters. You will chuckle at the situations that Eleanor falls into.
I enjoyed the country settings of Kent and Herefordshire, and the oceanside settings; it was a nice change from London. I also enjoyed many of the secondary characters, especially the elder Mr. Warwick.

I highly recommend this book! I could not put it down until I finished it! This is a clean Regency Romance that is smartly written and has very engaging characters. Warning: you may need a handkerchief or two.

I received an ARC copy from Net Galley. This is my honest review.

The storyline was wonderful;. I enjoyed the characters and could relate to almost all. I did get frustrated with how often the author would want to describe what each was feeling. It was often done from multiple perspectives and then often repeated. That alone is what grants this book only 3 stars. I think it has a great deal of potential and I would try another of the author's books. Finally, I did struggle with her one character of B. B's personality didn't seem to stay consistent throughout and that was disappointing. I don't think the author needed to ruin one character to make the other more tragic.

The Guarded Heart by Heidi Kimball. Covenant Communications, 2019.

This Regency romance with its unusual subplots and country settings is about Eleanor and Edmund told as a dual narrative. We are there when they meet and fall in love in 1813 and again in 1816 when their paths cross unexpectedly.

I could not put this beautifully written book down. Despite sadness in the main plot and subplots, it made me laugh and left me with a good feeling.

I loved its good, decent and well-developed main characters, their struggles to overcome family mistreatment and misadventures. Some of their friends and acquaintances were equally good and decent while others were not, equally well developed with feet of clay to be intentionally disappointing.

Disclosure: I received a review copy of The Guarded Heart via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you net galley for the advance reader copy of this novel. I enjoyed this regancy era romance that was very clean. The novel centered on a misunderstanding between two young people on the verge on an engagement that get a second chance. I will read more by this author.

Edmund and Eleanor fell in love and he nearly proposed at a ball held at her parents' house. But something happened at that ball to shock and disillusion him, so much so that he left without speaking to her. She, on the other hand, knew nothing about it, and believes that he dumped her for no reason. At almost the same time, a disgrace falls on her family, and she absents herself from society for three years. At the end of that period, she visits family in a different part of the country, and is shocked to find that Edmund is staying with cousins nearby. But he is nearly betrothed to another woman, and things between them are far too complicated to clear up anyway, aren't they?

I was quite badly thrown at the start of the book because (confession time!) I'm very bad at reading the headings at the starts of chapters that give dates, and so I didn't realise for a few chapters that the chapters were alternating between 1813 and 1816 (yes, only years given, not 'three years earlier', or something more helpful). Getting to see snapshots of their initial courtship was interesting to a point, but it seemed a bit shallow, and honestly, I would have preferred to have the story just stick to the 1816 storyline, with brief flashbacks to the more relevant parts of their history occasionally. Having said that, I thoroughly enjoyed the story in general once I got over my initial confusion.

Overall, the story was clean and the writing good, with the proviso that readers need to keep in mind the constant switching between timelines.

Note that I received a complimentary copy of the book from NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review and this is my considered opinion of the book.

Eleanor Hayward had a carefree life with good friends and a happy family until there was a scandal regarding charges that her older brother, Samuel, had murdered a commanding officer while serving in the war. Their family was shamed and Samuel was on the run. Eleanor went from spending time with her closest friend, Beatrice Clark, attending balls and other social events to spending time alone, suffering the death of her mother and her father's decline into alcoholism and gambling. On top of all the tragedy, was the abandonment of the man she had given her heart to, Edmund Fletcher.

Edmund Fletcher had seen the woman he loved in the arms of another man and he wouldn't be seen as any else's second best, so he left her without explanation. Three years later, while visiting family, he came face to face with the woman again, Eleanor Hayward. She was much changed, less carefree, more reserved and guarded, than he had remembered her being when he knew her before. He was now practically engaged to another woman he couldn't get over the heartbreak he had experiences at the callousness of Eleanor Hayward. But, those feelings were still there, as much as he wanted them not to be. Would moving forward with Miss Coombs finally put those feelings to rest? Would he ever be able to forget the happiness he had felt when he had spent time with Eleanor Hayward three years earlier?

This was a sweet, Regency romance with no foul language or sex scenes. It was a sweet and tragic story of circumstances and misunderstandings that led to heartbreak and sadness. There is a happy ending, however, that is worth the wait. This is a new author to me and I look forward to reading more of her books.

I was given an arc copy of this book and I willingly offer my honest review.

I loved this book. It was a great regency romance. The characters and the plot were great. I received this book free in exchange for my honest review.

A Guarded Heart is just that. Eleanor has had a difficult life, but still seems to try to move forward with a positive regard for herself and others. The switch between past and present in the story telling is delightful in letting you see the gradual relationship that grew between Eleanor and Edmund. As with many relationships, communication is an issue. These two did not have enough time to let that part of their growing love develop before mistrust crept in. It did not help that the grasping Mrs. Clark wanted Edmond for one of her own daughters and was ‘whispering’ unkindness about Eleanor in his ear.

There is so much I enjoyed about this book that makes it enjoyable while at the same time, breaking my heart for Eleanor and Edmund. We know they will have their HEA, but not how they will achieve their destination. The huge hurts with which Eleanor has lived, the loss of her brother to the military, his charge of murdering his commanding officer, her mother’s death, her father drop into constant drunkenness. Yet, she still strives to be a good, kind person even when others are openly rude.

For a while I was disappointed in Edmund but realize his actions all those years ago stem from his own hurts and insecurities. Edmund truly goes a long way toward healing himself as he, too, tries to do what is right and just. Even so far as his future intended Ms. Coombs is concerned. He accomplished helping Eleanor without her knowing all that he did. I would say he redeemed himself well. He really is a gentleman through and through.

Although this is not a light-hearted romance, it is one you will not want to put down. Heidi Kimball is new to me as an author. The only other book of hers I have read was a novella. She may become one of my ‘go to’ authors due to the excellent story lines of the two I have now read.

A Guarded Heart, Heidi Kimball

Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre: Romance, Historical fiction.

This is a gentle read, veering from present to three years past, no great surprises, and the plot lines are a little cliched. The characters were OK, the way Society and the attitude to scandal works was spot on, but I wasn't really invested in the couple enough.

I'd guessed pretty quickly what had happened, and as usual in stories instead of talking, Edmund goes off in a righteous huff. Stuff like this happens, but it makes me question just how strong feeling are if you believe someone could do that- and equally, how is it possible to just put it behind you once the truth is revealed.
I liked Eleanor and Edmund, hoped for a little more nastiness from the woman he's currently courting, the claws came out occasionally but were pretty much sheathed. The story line involving Eleanor's brother added a little extra to the last half of the story.

Overall though it was one I enjoyed but wouldn't read again.

Stars: Three, a story that was a gentle read, but I wasn't convinced of their True Passion, anyone that can drop someone that easily doesn't deserve forgiveness so quickly.

Arc via Netgalley and publishers

This book was full of heart-wrenching moments, and yet I couldn’t put it down. I HAD to know what would happen to Edmund and Eleanor!

I really enjoyed the way the author switched back and forth each chapter. The first chapter starts out in the present, and then the next goes back three years so we can learn firsthand about our two main characters. At first I was frustrated with it, because right when I was really getting into the chapter I was reading, it would switch, but I found that i actually really liked the way it built up the story.

Eleanor was a good protagonist- kind and resilient, she tried to not let the world tear her down despite insurmountable obstacles. There were some tender moments between her and Edmund that had me sighing in delight, and a depth to this book that I did not expect, with a great cast of supporting characters.

The ending was wonderful, although there were some discrepancies I wish could have made more sense or I understood better. Still a great clean regency romance, and I will definitely be on the lookout for more by this author!

Herefortshire - 1816

Miss Eleanor Hayward, her cousin, Miss Caroline Warwick, and Caroline’s parents are hosting a ball to introduce Eleanor to their friends and neighbors. She has recently come from her home in Kent. She is nervous about meeting these people, but many are kind. There is a past event involving her brother that brought shame to her family. When she is introduced to Mr. Edmund Fletcher, she is shocked that he doesn’t seem to remember her from three years ago. Ah - but he does remember her and their past association when she had broken his heart when he found her in the arms of another man.

Kent - 1813

Eleanor has walked to her friend’s home called Claremont and home of the Clark family. Beatrice came out to meet her along with her older brother, Charles, and younger sister, Louise, who all welcomed her. Among the group is Edmund Fletcher. The group then set off to tour an Abbey and Castle. Eleanor and Edmund spend time together getting to know one another and enjoying chatting.

The story switches back and forth from the time Eleanor and Edmund came to know one another to three years later after something had happened that tore them apart. Edmund haughtily suggests that Eleanor treated him badly but she doesn’t know what he means. She thinks he just decided back then that his higher station in life compared to her modest one meant that they would not suit.

Both of them are hurting but are reluctant to discuss the past. Eleanor is hiding a family secret that Edmund doesn’t fully understand. If there a way that they can open themselves up honestly and see if their love can be rekindled?

This is a story of miscommunication and pride: two things that can wreck relationships. It is clean, and the verbiage is true to the time period. I found the book to be somewhat sad and depressing, however, that’s what the plot is about.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I was hoping for something like 'Persuasion', one of my favorite love stories by Jane Austen. But A Guarded Heart was more about cliched misunderstandings rather than the complexities of human nature which I'd been expecting.

Edmund is a noble gentleman. He is good at heart and what you'd expect from a standard hero in regency novels. Eleanor was spunky and full of life until her brother has to be on run after supposedly killing his superior in army, and turning Eleanor and their family into social outcast.

The story plays with alternate timelines - past and present. We see Eleanor and Edmund fall in love in the past timeline and deal with the shock of meeting each other again in the present timeline. Their love story was sweet enough. I was just not overly invested. The big reveal of why the couple parted ways, had me feeling apathetic.

In the end, this felt a lot like a formulaic regency romance which is enjoyable but not hardly unique.